Kim Kaufman is a true testament to the fact that you can have brains and brawn. Kaufman wrapped up her college career with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and spent part of the 2012-13 season as the No. 1 ranked player in the country.

Kaufman has always put a lot of work into her schoolwork and got started in golf at a young age in South Dakota.

“I was four years old, and my dad started playing,” Kaufman said. “My sister and I just started riding around in the golf cart, and we would stay out and putt and chip. It just started from there.”

Kaufman credits her success to competing with her sister while they played together as they were growing up.

“My sister and I both grew up playing together,” Kaufman said, “which is a big reason why I am where I am.”

This competitive streak helped Kaufman grow to her full potential. She ended her high school career as a four-time state champion and was an all-state selection all four years.

From high school, Kaufman said the decision to commit to playing for Texas Tech was an easy one.

“I always knew I wanted to come south,” Kaufman said. “I liked it out here, and the practice facilities are awesome. It just had everything I needed. I came and I visited, and I committed right after. I just liked it here. I like Texas.”

Kaufman settled in to being a Red Raider quickly. She set a new school record in the spring of her freshman year for the lowest 18-hole round at 65. In the same year, Kaufman also managed to finish her first year with at 4.0 GPA.

She continued to excel in her golf career and kept raking in the 4.0 GPA every semester after that.

Kaufman ended her Red Raider golf and academic career strongly. She set the Tech single-season and career stroke average records this past season and led her team to the postseason all four years, a feat that had not previously been accomplished in school history.

She credits her success to the support system she had all four years of college.

“My team and my coaches here all want the best for me,” Kaufman said. “I was lucky enough to have the same coach for all four years. I knew she believed in me. My parents, my instructors, and my teammates, that little group of people were huge. I really needed all of them.”

Kaufman will continue her golf career on the Symetra Tour, the developmental league for the LPGA, and she is very appreciative of her time spent playing college golf.

“I really couldn’t have asked for much more,” Kaufman said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to have played my four years of golf.”

Although Kaufman has a very bright future ahead of her in the golf world, she also has a plan for when she is done with her golf career.

“I will probably go back to law school. I’m pretty outspoken,” Kaufman said laughing. “I’ve been told many times I would make a good lawyer. I really like it, and it really interests me.”

Kaufman’s dedication to athletics and academics does not go unnoticed by those around her. Her coach, JoJo Robertson, is expecting great things from Kaufman in whatever path she decides to take.

“Kim is a player that there is never a challenge too big to tackle,” Robertson said. “She is the epitome of a student-athlete and we couldn’t be prouder of what she has accomplished these past four years. We know she has a bright future ahead.”